Sage 6200 Reel

This new series of reels from Sage, designated 6200, has replaced the 6000 series. Reels designated with a 6 number are their current premium fly reel range and are mostly aimed at saltwater anglers. There are a few changes from the original 6000’s and I see all of these as improvements.

The new reels are lighter, but not by much. The reel has the same dished style arbor, and swallows up an immense amount of backing.

The new drag adjustment knob is outstanding. It is large, well knurled, and clearly numbered 1–20. The drag goes from freespool to full with one complete revolution. But it does this through a series of 40 possible settings, clearly identified by clicks.

I hand fill all my reels with backing and as mentioned earlier they take a huge amount, leaving plenty of room for fly lines. My 6212 reels have 750 metres of Fins 50 lb on them; the 6210’s have 500 and the 6280’s have 350 — all wound on by hand, so I’ve become pretty familiar with the next feature that I like so much, the winding knob.

The knob is a large capstan shape and generates no finger fatigue or cramps, and has no sharp edges — something you really begin to notice during a long fight.

I’ve also caught a lot of good fish on these reels, having used a 6210 prototype for a year before its release and having fished the others extensively. What has impressed me so much is the ergonomics of the reel — they’re just great reels to fish with.

There are five models in the series with a 5/6 as the smallest and an 11/12 the largest – in between are a 6/7, a 7/8, and a 9/10.

We landed an estimated 70 kilo black marlin on the 11/12, and I’ve also landed a string of sailfish on it as well, so the reel is well and truly up to handling big fish.

The drags are smooth and powerful, although I would like to see a little more in the top end. The drag is a sealed carbon fibre washer set-up, in a waterproof hub.

The reel is easily converted from left to right hand wind: it’s a simple matter of unscrewing a cap and turning over the bearing.

Colours available are Stealth (matt black), Silver, and Cobalt.

These reels are priced very competitively, even with the current exchange rate. The biggest is sub $700AUD

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